Solitary Confinement

News about Solitary Confinement, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jan. 14, 2015

New York City officials reach agreement on plan to eliminate use of solitary confinement for inmates 21 and younger at Rikers Island, putting jail complex at head of national jail reform movement; move, effective January 2016, is prominent change by administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio in dealing with young disruptive inmates. MORE

Dec. 18, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio visits troubled Rikers Island jail complex for first time since taking office; notes fulfillment of pledge to end solitary confinement for juveniles as part of continuing reforms at facility. MORE

Dec. 17, 2014

Op-Ed article by Prof Ian M Kysel calls for an end to use of solitary confinement for juveniles; contends that young prison inmates should be managed in way that promotes their healthy growth and development and that protects their fundamental rights. MORE

Nov. 29, 2014

United Nations panel says United States must make numerous changes to bring its security policies and domestic law enforcement practices into line with international treaty banning torture and cruel treatment; cites many examples including indefinite detention of terrorism suspects, police shootings of unarmed African-Americans and the use of solitary confinement in US prisons. MORE

Nov. 22, 2014

Editorial condemns solitary confinement of Albert Woodfox, Louisiana inmate convicted of 1972 murder of prison guard, for over four decades; notes that federal appeals court has overturned Woodfox's conviction, and decries insistence by state officials that they intend to retry him, despite lack of evidence tying him to murder or surviving witnesses; contends that 40 years of solitary confinement is barbaric beyond measure. MORE

Sep. 29, 2014

New York City Correction Dept tells Mayor Bill de Blasio that it will eliminate solitary confinement for 16- and 17-year-old inmates by end of 2014, amid increasingly vocal calls to improve conditions at Rikers Island jail complex. MORE

Sep. 26, 2014

Autopsy report from North Carolina Medical Examiner's Office shows that Anthony Michael Kerr, state inmate with severe mental illness, died of thirst after being held in solitary confinement. MORE

Aug. 30, 2014

California corrections officials say they will make significant changes in use of solitary confinement for mentally ill prisoners, revising decades-old policies that have kept thousands of inmates who have psychiatric disorders in isolation. MORE

Aug. 29, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio enacts legislation to boost oversight of use of solitary confinement at Rikers Island prison complex; law comes in wake of growing criticism over conditions at facility. MORE

Jun. 9, 2014

Editorial contends Justice Dept's settlement with Ohio, which will sharply reduce and eventually end solitary confinement for juvenile prisoners, puts other states on notice that such policies need to change; contends if settlement's principles are adopted nationally, they will go a long way toward humanizing juvenile detention. MORE

Jun. 4, 2014

Federal Judge Claudia Wilken in Oakland, Calif, agrees to consider whether holding prisoners in isolation for more than a decade violates their rights under the Eighth Amendment. MORE

Mar. 16, 2014

Colorado's Corrections Department executive director Rick Raemisch, whose predecessor was killed by inmate who had been kept in solitary confinement, spends night alone in cell as part of campaign against practice. MORE

Mar. 7, 2014

David Brooks Op-Ed column charges that practice of solitary confinement, in which prisoners are locked away in social isolation for 23 hours a day, inflicts extreme social pain and is arguably less humane than flogging; contends America's prisons need to reform solitary confinement laws. MORE

Feb. 21, 2014

Editorial praises New York State corrections officials for agreeing to new guidelines for the maximum length prisoners may be placed in solitary confinement; contends solitary confinement is almost never effective at changing an inmate's behavior for the better. MORE

Feb. 21, 2014

Op-Ed article by Rick Raemisch, executive director of the Colorado Dept of Corrections, describes his one night of solitary confinement, which he subjected himself to; contends his experience underscores urgency for reform. MORE

Feb. 20, 2014

New York State agrees to sweeping reforms intended to curtail the widespread use of solitary confinement, including prohibiting its use in disciplining prisoners under age 18; agreement, fruit of lawsuit filed by the New York Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three prisoners, will limit use of solitary confinement as a disciplinary measure by imposing specific sentencing guidelines for the first time. MORE

Nov. 20, 2013

Jim Dwyer About New York column; report prepared for New York City's Board of Corrections looks into effects of solitary confinement at Rikers Island and how it can be a basket into which society drops the disruptive mentally ill. MORE

Jul. 17, 2013

Op-Ed article by journalist, author and ex-con Wilbert Rideau explores impetus behind hunger strike of some 30,000 California inmates who are demanding improvements in prison conditions, and protesting excessive solitary confinement; contends that prolonged solitary confinement is the cruelest thing one can endure, and brutalizes one's mental health. MORE

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"ARTICLES ABOUT SOLITARY CONFINEMENT","query":"(des=\"Solitary Confinement\" or col=\"Solitary Confinement\" or hdl=\"Solitary Confinement\" or (des=\"Prisons and Prisoners\" and body=\"solitary confinement\")) and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"List\" and tom!=\"Paid Death Notice\" and dsk!=\"Society\" and hdl!=\" Is Solitary Confinement Driving Charlie Chase Crazy?\"","search_query":"(subject:\"Solitary Confinement\" OR kicker:\"Solitary Confinement\" OR headline:\"Solitary Confinement\" OR (subject:\"Prisons and Prisoners\" AND body:\"solitary confinement\")) AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"List\" AND -type_of_material:\"Paid Death Notice\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\" AND -headline:\" Is Solitary Confinement Driving Charlie Chase Crazy?\"","num_search_articles":"15","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"SOLITARY CONFINEMENT","more_on_header":"MORE ON SOLITARY CONFINEMENT AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}

A review of official documents revealed 62 cases in which inmates were seriously injured by correction officers between last August and January, a period of increased attention on conditions at the jail complex.

Multimedia

California has for decades used long-term solitary confinement as a way to combat the gang violence in its overcrowded prisons. But the state is now proposing changes in its policy that could decrease the use of isolation.